Zygote Health Dictionary

The cell that is produced when a sperm fertilizes an ovum. A zygote, measuring about 0.1 mm in diameter in humans, contains all the genetic material for a new individual. The zygote is surrounded by a protein-rich layer known as the zona pellucida.

The zygote travels down 1 of the woman’s fallopian tubes, dividing as it does so. After about a week, the mass of cells (now called a blastocyst) implants into the lining of the uterus, and the next stage of embryological growth begins.

(See also embryo; fertilization.)

This is the cell produced when an OVUM is fertilised by a SPERMATOZOON. A zygote contains all the hereditary material for a new individual: half comes from the sperm and half from the ovum. After passing down the Fallopian tube, when the zygote starts dividing, it becomes implanted in the UTERUS and develops into an EMBRYO.

The product of the union of a male and a female gamete.

n. the fertilized ovum before *cleavage begins. It contains both male and female pronuclei.